antiTHESIS

Ah, thank you for all the reviews last time. We've hit 100 reviews, which is very awesome xD. I was rushing to get this finished for the weekend, so this hasn't been beta-ed. If there are any typos you see, it'd be lovely if you pointed them out!

(edit: Thank you to Cei-chan, The Night Owl is Addicted, and Setsuna-X for catching typos n.n)

x another puzzle piece is thrown in

'Introduce yourself, Keigo, and go play with the nice boy, okay?' Atobe Senior said with a smile, before slipping away into another room.

'I'm Atobe Keigo,' the little boy said arrogantly, smirking at the shorter boy. He then bowed, and straightened himself, waiting for the other boy to do the same.

However, the other boy did no such thing, his attention on the book in his hands.

Hey,' the little Atobe iterated, frowning. 'Bow back.' The other boy continued to read, eyes dashing across the pages at an incredible rate. He didn't seem to have heard Atobe at all.

'What's your name?' Atobe tried again, his previously good mood deteriorating. He raised one small hand and pushed the shorter boy gently in the shoulder. The boy rocked a bit on his feet, but still read.

'Hey!' Atobe shouted. 'Look at me!' He waved his arms about dramatically, and the other boy took this moment to look up, eyes appraising with raised eyebrows.

'What are you doing?' the other boy said blankly, staring. 'Are you stupid?'

'No I'm not!' Atobe replied indignantly, putting his hands on his hips.

The other boy smirked. 'You look like a girl.'

'Well - well - well, so do you!' Atobe shouted back, his voice much louder than it should have been.

'You shouldn't use other people's retorts,' the boy said matter-of-factly. 'It makes you look stupid.'

And there it was again, that infernal word. 'I'm not stupid!' Atobe cried, now pouting.

'That makes you look even more like a girl, you know,' the boy said, sounding bored.

Atobe was about to reply 'no it doesn't!' when an idea came to him. 'What's your name?'

Taken aback, the other boy paused before replying, 'Ryoma.'

'Well then you're Ryoko-chan, girlie boy!' Atobe crowed, sounding quite unsophisticated and rather childish, feeling triumphant.

Ryoma shrugged.

'Hey, Ryoma, we're going!' A man dressed in monkish clothes shouted, and Ryoma stood up obediently, head in his book.

Atobe Senior, once both the man in monkish clothes and Ryoma were gone, said quietly, no smile on his face at all, 'You were too loud.'

All feelings of triumph slipped out of Atobe's grasp, falling through the gaps between his slender fingers like water.

xxx

'Rise and shine, Meino!'

The phrase 'rise and shine', Ryoma decided, was the stupidest phrase he had ever heard. Why on earth would he get up and shine? Shine like a light bulb? That really wasn't possible anyway, since he was limited by his rather humanoid body that didn't have an on and off switch. Shine his boots? He had no boots to polish, nor did he have any shoe polish to polish boots with. Shine at what?

And all of those would require getting out of his warm, fluffy bed - which was the most idiotic idea ever. There was no light coming in from the window, meaning the sun hadn't even risen or started shining yet - so why should he?

Ryoma, nonetheless, sat up, giving a death glare to the offending man beside him. 'Why the hell are you bothering me now?'

'Didn't Fuji tell you that we had to go out today?' Momo said cheerfully, beaming a smile that was too wide for the hour that it was. 'With mamushi over there.'

'Shut up, beanpole!'

Ryoma raised a hand to attempt and stop an incoming argument. 'Where are we going?' he asked wearily. It seemed that he would get no more sleep anyway.

'Going to finalise some plans with Hyoutei today,' Momo explained, running a hand through his spiky black hair. 'Us two, that is.' Momo gestured at him and Kaidoh, scowling. 'You'll be talking with the prisoner.'

'Prisoner?' Ryoma asked, not comprehending. His mind really didn't start working properly until midmorning, and even that was a stretch.

Momo shrugged. 'The silver-haired guy. Fuji seemed to think that you'd get information out of him, so you'll be coming with us.'

'And clothes are on your computer desk in the other room, Meino,' Momo added. 'Me and mamushi will wait outside.'

'Don't call me mamushi, beanpole!'

The two bickered their way out, and Ryoma headed for the computer table, to find a small pile of frills and sheer fabric. He picked the article up, and gaped. They had to be kidding.

A note fluttered to the ground when Ryoma picked up the dress. The note was written on flowery paper - scented as well, which Ryoma found out after sniffing it - with elegant calligraphy.

Ryoko-chan,

I think this beautiful tea gown suits you, and is perfectly apt for wearing to the Hyoutei mansion, considering the fact that you do seem to know Atobe rather intimately. It was quite hard to get this tea gown - not many are made in this style any more, though I can't begin to imagine why.

There should be a clip for your hair as well on your desk that would go perfectly with your periwinkle dress.

You will be talking with Niou Masaharu, which is the name of our silver-haired vigilante. It would be wonderfully wonderful if you got him to speak more about himself. Think of it as a date, okay? One you're getting paid to follow through with.

Love, Fuji

Following the words 'Love, Fuji' (the 'Love' was surrounded by little pink marker hearts) were various combinations of punctuation marks that Ryoma couldn't figure out. What the hell were two carets separated by an underscore supposed to mean anyway?

Ryoma looked to the desk, and indeed there was a clip. If Ryoma hadn't known it was a clip, he would have thought it was a really ornate decoration for hanging on the wall or something like that, because it had to be the size of his hand. It looked like a butterfly with sparkling blue wings. Ryoma picked up the clip, which was surprisingly light. The wings fluttered, on springs that attached it to the clip butterfly's body.

Clipping it onto his hair, thus making it look like a mammoth of a butterfly had perched on his head, he turned back to the mass of white lace and periwinkle material. It looked more like a particularly lacy pillow than a dress. Nevertheless, Ryoma slipped it on with the ease of one who had often worn too elaborate dresses, and headed out.

xhx

Shishido was now despairing.

He wasn't despairing for his life, now, but rather, for Choutarou's life.

To be more specific, Shishido was desponding for Choutarou's innocence.

'Leave him the hell alone, Niou!' Shishido whispered angrily, exasperated. Why couldn't he ever have the upper hand? Even when his opponent was handcuffed? Shishido seemed doomed to forever be the underdog, with Atobe and Niou around him almost constantly. He couldn't even ask Choutarou for help, now that Niou seemed determined to molest poor Choutarou.

Niou smirked at him, his silver hair still in impeccable spikes despite having had his hands chained since the previous day. Shishido's own hair was particularly unruly - it was all Atobe's fault for not letting him wear a cap indoors. 'It's not proper to look so horrendous in front of a guest,' Atobe had said, going on and on about manners and etiquette and unimportant things like that - never mind that it was all bullshit and pointless, considering the way that his guest was acting.

'I can't help it if Chou-kun's a nice guy,' Niou said casually, waving a goodbye to the retreating back of the tall man walking away.

'Don't call him Chou-kun!' Shishido grumbled, hands balled up into fists that would never meet their target, because, once again, of Atobe. 'And under no circumstances are you to harm the guest,' Atobe had also said. Atobe and his stupid rules and his stupid smirk and his stupid personality.

Niou's smirk was like a beacon, lighting up the room with snark and impoliteness too bright for Shishido's eyes. 'But he's cute, isn't he?' Niou raised his eyebrows. If Shishido could only wipe that infuriating smirk off of his face...

'I think it's about time for some breakfast,' Niou said, yawning. 'I'd like some slightly toasted bread, so that the bread is only a bit crisp, an omelette with ham and mozzarella cheese - and not the processed kind -, and black coffee, but if the coffee here is anything like the service, I'll just have spring water.' He said all of that in one long breath, but didn't rush the words. He had to have been some pearl diver in some previous life to have been able to talk so much without breathing. Or maybe he had just taken the 101 Ways to Annoy Shishido Ryou course.

Scowling, Shishido started to reply, 'What do you think this is, a hotel?' but was cut off by a maid. Ah. The one from yesterday.

'You really have no taste at all, do you,' the girl said, scowling. Her hair was pinned up elaborately with a huge ... insect. It was rather creepy.

Niou smiled, which was quite unnerving. 'Ah. Fuji's girl. Let's eat breakfast, shall we? Shishido will be serving.'

The girl turned an appraising eye to Shishido, making him feel like he was the shorter person in the equation. 'I like Japanese-styled breakfast.'

'I'm not a servant!' Shishido exploded.

The girl shrugged, looking quite unfeminine with the smirk - which matched Niou's and Atobe's. What the hell was going on? Were they all related? 'Really,' she said flatly, giving him another glance. 'I never would have guessed.'

And with that, the two walked away, the girl saying without looking back, 'And I'd like gyokuro with that, from Yame.'

Did everybody Shishido talked to have to be obscenely condescending? Shishido sighed, and headed for the kitchens. He'd have to ask the chef to start cooking.

xhx

Ryoma was frowning as he stared deep into his tea. It didn't look like gyokuro, but he might have just been mistaken... He took a sip. No, it was definitely not gyokuro.

'What the fuck is this supposed to be?' he said, glaring at Shishido, the one who had brought him the atrocity of a drink in a beautiful Japanese teacup that it had no right to be in. 'It's not even the right colour!'

Shishido shrugged, looking like he didn't care that he had brought tea of less than mediocre quality.

'At least the food is good,' Ryoma said grudgingly, looking back to his miso soup. 'But everything is ruined because of this tea!'

'Ah, don't you think you're being a little melodramatic, Ryo-ko-chan?' Niou interrupted, speaking in a singsong voice. If Ryoma wasn't too busy fuming at Shishido, he would have kicked him.

Ignoring Niou's comment, he continued, 'And this cup.' Ryoma tapped the teacup to prove his point. 'It's way too cold for gyokuro, if this tea actually is that.' Ryoma gave a scathing glare to the tea, willing it to wither under his glower. 'It tastes wrong. Did you not use a teapot to brew this? ... This isn't instant tea, is it?' Ryoma put a hand to his mouth, feeling rather faint. 'I think I might have just drunk instant tea, oh my fucking-'

'Oh, stop being such a drama queen. No wonder you had been Atobe-sama's secretary,' Niou said, rolling his eyes. 'I think my dilemma is much more important. It's hard to eat when one's hands are handcuffed behind one's back.'

'I'd rather have my hands handcuffed behind my back if it meant that I wouldn't have had to drink this... this thing,' Ryoma said angrily.

Niou shrugged. 'Either way, this all proves that Hyoutei sucks, I think. No manners whatsoever. Giving people food without any way to eat it, trying to pass off instant tea as actual tea...'

Ryoma nodded, glaring at Shishido once again, who actually did wither a bit. 'I think I'd rather go to Rikkai or whatever, even if I was a prisoner. At least I wouldn't feel like barfing.'

'Oh, I wouldn't know about that,' the silver-haired man said with a chuckle.

Ryoma really didn't care about what Niou was insinuating at, choosing instead to eat the decent parts of his meal. He ate a bit of the grilled fish, which was delectable. If only there was green tea to go with it.

'You know, Shishido, wouldn't it be amazing if I could actually eat the food in front of me?' Niou said, one eyebrow raised.

Shishido snapped back, 'You don't need hands to eat, do you? Can't the two of you just shut up?'

'After you get rid off these handcuffs, yes!' Niou snarked, at the same time that Ryoma muttered, 'If I had actual tea, then maybe I would.'

Shishido left the room in a huff, letting Niou breathe a sigh of relief. 'Finally. I thought we'd never be rid of him.'

'Huh?' Ryoma asked dumbly.

Niou put his elbows on the table, one hand propping up his head while the other placed a pair of handcuffs on the table. 'Now we can properly enjoy ourselves. Shall we?'

'... I thought you were handcuffed,' Ryoma said, staring at Niou's bare arms.

Niou shrugged elegantly, pulling off the look of an unconcerned person who was only staying where he was for his own amusement. 'As if a pair of mere handcuffs could keep in a marksman from Rikkai. Even a pair from your boyfriend.'

'He's not my boyfriend,' Ryoma responded immediately.

Niou nodded. 'I figured as much. What kind of boyfriend would send his lover into the lion's den?' He then intertwined his fingers, cocking his head slightly to the right. He looked the image of an interested listener. 'Well, let's talk. Twenty questions, answered with only yes or no, okay? We'll take turns.'

'...And you won't lie?' Ryoma scoffed.

Niou smiled, making him look like a cat that had just found his favourite mouse to play with. 'You'll just have to trust me.'

'Trust you,' Ryoma reiterated incredulously. 'Weren't you the one who shot me with that tranquilliser dart?'

'But that dart was intended for somebody else.' Niou waved that fact away as if Ryoma's tranquillisation was inconsequential. 'You're still alive, aren't you? You should be glad that you got the chance to be shot by such a monumental weapon. These haven't even be released to the military yet; one of our own developed it.'

'I should be glad that I had been shot with a dart,' Ryoma replied in the same incredulous tone, staring at Niou as if he was crazy.

Niou stated simply, 'Yes.' Then he clapped his hands together. 'Let's get on with it, shall we? Let's start with introductions. Are you really only a secretary at Seishun Agency?'

Ryoma opened his mouth to say 'yes', but decided that he might just see if he could lie or not. 'No-'

And then there was the loudest screeching noise that he had ever heard, a cacophony of fingers scratching blackboards, cats yowling, and metal clanging against bone.

After a few seconds, Niou said, rather unnecessarily, in Ryoma's opinion, '...And that means that you've lied. Well, that was question one for me. Your turn.'

'Are you really a marksman for Rikkai?' Ryoma asked.

'Yes,' Niou replied immediately. There was no racket.

A marksman. Did those actually exist then? Was this silver-haired man some sort of assassin?

'Actually, I'm not,' Niou then added. And there was still no racket.

'So which is it?' Ryoma demanded. 'How come your lie detector isn't going off?'

Niou let out a full-fledged bout of laughter. 'Lie detector? I'm sorry, this isn't a movie.' Niou pulled out a small box with a single red button on it. He pushed it, and the cacophony started again. He pushed it once more, and the cacophony ceased.

'...So that was all just a joke?'

'Yeah.'

It was going to be a long nineteen more questions each.

'Well, let the games begin,' Niou said, stretching his hands behind his back nonchalantly. 'I'll let you have the first actual question. The other two were just to prove my point.'

'Which is?' Ryoma demanded.

'That I can do whatever the hell I want, regardless of where I am.' Niou enunciated the next part exceptionally clearly. 'And that Rikkai is prepared for whatever is being planned by Seishun and Hyoutei.'

xxx

In a minimalistic room with only a single, oddly shaped chair, a brunet frowned, taking the pair of headphones of his ears. There had been no need for him to listen, since all was being recorded anyway and sent by radio waves to both Hyoutei and Seishun, but he had wanted to hear the conversation before anybody else.

How had Rikkai known? They had to be the ones responsible for interfering with the transmission - the static wouldn't have just conveniently ended with Niou saying that Rikkai was prepared for what Seishun and Hyoutei could throw at them. And then the static had started again! The static had to be because of Rikkai... but had had they known? Had they sent Niou on purpose? Was the capture all a façade?

The brunet hated being outwitted, and he would understand the enigma that was Niou Masaharu before he was taken care of, or he wouldn't be Fuji Syusuke, espionage agent extraordinaire.

'Syuuuuu-kun!' The ecstatic voice of Eiji shouted from outside the room. 'Breakfast's ready nya!'

Fuji stood up, placing an appropriate smile for meeting his lover on his face. 'Coming, Eijiko,' he said cheerfully, and stepped out the door, pushing all thoughts of Niou to the back of his mind, leaving him to Meino Ryoko - another person he would have to solve.

xxx

'Oh. I think our session is done for today.'

'I've still got four questions left,' Ryoma said, frowning, making Niou grin.

'If you're that desperate for company-'

'Shut up,' Ryoma said immediately. 'And you better slip those handcuffs back on.'

'Can do, can do.' Niou contorted his fingers in a way that no person should have been able to do and slipped the handcuffs back onto both hands behind his back. 'I look forward to speaking with you again.' He stood up and headed for the door.

Then Niou added something offhandedly. 'It was nice to see you, Echizen Ryoma.'

And then Niou was gone, leaving Ryoma completely and utterly befuddled as to what the hell was going on. His mind was focussed on the two words that Niou had spoken, even as Kaidoh and Momo shepherded him back to Seishun Agency's headquarters.

How had Niou known?

There was something mysterious about Niou, and this whole business with Rikkai. Who were Rikkai, really? And what did Hyoutei want with them? What was Seishun Agency actually, dealing with people like marksmen and major conglomerates? Ryoma had somehow fallen straight into this Bermuda triangle, and it seemed that he had a part in it as well.

Ryoma only worried that he would never get back out.

x tsuzuku

And there goes another chapter, with another mystery added to the mix. I'm scared that at this rate there'll be one I forget to explain xD

But -anyway-. Idyllic Dystopia is coming to a close, probably next week, and a new story will be posted after that. The story to be posted is either a supernatural rather twisted Thrill Pair (Fuji x Ryoma), a Sweet Pair (Marui x Jirou) in the humour category, or an angsty mix between FujiRyo, EijiRyo, and FujiEiji. Which would you like to read the most? n.n. Feel free to suggest any of the three in a review XD.

Reviews would be awesome. -awinchan